Cactus

wickedgrin, short contracts are not automatically the solution... There are a lot of positive things to be said about casts the grow together and stick together for a while without constant new and tiring rehearsals to allow new cast members to get used to the show. Having new people join doesn't mean they're 'kept on their toes'. The rehearsal period is very short and often just about blocking and lighting cues etc. and having talked to a number of performers, it's the first few months of performing the parts when you really get to explore the show and find your footing and get confident and secure in your portrayal. Especially with characters like the students it usually helps to establish them as a group.
If a performance seems tired or lacklustre it's almost certainly due to direction and individual performances. I remember when I saw Les Mis for the first time after several years which (as I later found out) happened to be towards the end of a cast's run. They'd been performing together for about ten months and I still remember how many small details and layered interactions there were, and how great the energy was. They didn't have to concentrate on blocking or cues but were completely at ease with the material and had explored the characters to the fullest. In comparison, I saw the 25th Anniversary UK tour just a couple of weeks into their run and all the students seemed to be one generic body, not individual characters.
That said, seeing Les Mis about six months ago (so just about four months into the cast's run), I also felt that they seemed to just be 'there' as if to say 'the house will be full anyway so why bother?'. I put this down to casting and direction and given my experience with other casts I'll stick with that - but it was frustrating. The audience still seemed to enjoy it it but I'd definitely seen more passionate performances in the show (even ten or so months into a cast's run).
I know that quite a number of performers really enjoy having an entire year or more with their characters and use it to the fullest by exploring their parts to the fullest and work out various interactions - after all, it's quite an ensemble-heavy show and it allows for more freedom than A Chorus Line for example, or Phantom which almost entirely relies on the three leads. A fair number of actors and actresses in the past have chosen to stay with Les Mis for several years (both as principals and in the ensemble) have have continued to give strong and original performances. I've seen performers who, after almost two years in their role, had more passion and dedication than others showed after three months. But I also agree that direction at the moment seems to be superficial.

 MS1995, on 19 May 2013 - 07:24 PM, said:

There isn't normally a winter cast change - obviously there have been some exceptions to the rule lately but I'm hoping that for once a cast will actually stick with it for a year as they usually do.

Zermatt, on 06 May 2013 - 05:52 PM, said:

I didn't realise there was a typecast for 'revolutionary leader'. Plus, I like Nadim but Hugo even describes Enjolras as a pretty, charming, blond, young man with delicate features in the novel.  If Anton is able to sing and act the part (and we can't judge that yet) I don't see what would speak against him.

I don't think it's entirely unlikely that Chris Jacobsen will be staying on for a bit longer.

It appears to be a misunderstanding anyway:

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